Argentina to Try 8 Iranians in 1994 AMIA Bombing Case

Over three decades after the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people, Argentina's Justice Minister Juan Bautista Mahiques announced that eight suspects will be put on trial. The trial will proceed in absentia, facilitated by a new law allowing criminal proceedings against fugitives. Most of the accused were already listed as wanted by Interpol in 2007 at Argentina's request.

Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas, in a 600-page ruling, classified the July 1994 bombing as a crime against humanity, finding sufficient suspicion against seven Iranians and one Lebanese national. The local justice system alleges Hezbollah carried out the attack under orders from the Iranian government. The list of defendants includes senior Iranian officials, such as current Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Ahmad Vahidi, current security coordinator Mohsen Rezaee, former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, and former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati. The judge also ordered the seizure of assets worth 435 million euros from each individual involved.

The opening of the trial reopens deep trauma in Argentina and the chain of events surrounding the investigation. In 2004, Jewish prosecutor Alberto Nisman was appointed to lead the case. In January 2015, he was found dead in his apartment hours before he was scheduled to present evidence to Congress suggesting then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and other officials attempted to cover up Iran's involvement in the bombing. The circumstances of his death remain controversial and under investigation.

Concurrently, Argentina's Supreme Court was recently asked to rule on a potential link between the AMIA bombing and the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 people, due to suspicions of Hezbollah's involvement in both incidents. The historic decision to open the trial has received full backing from the Argentine government leadership. The Justice Minister described the judge's ruling on X as a "milestone in the fight against impunity." President Javier Milei praised the move, telling the Justice Minister that the decision effectively implements morality as a state doctrine.